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In Answer to a Letter from a Traveler on the Path

Seeking 


O minstrel of the soul, for God’s sake,

play the tuneless tune for a moment.


If the bond of loving kindness is not present,

the heart will not hear our message.


How can the morning breeze by itself

bring a message to a friend?


May I always be love’s companion;

perhaps then, I will explain fidelity


          and make drunk the sober companion

          that he might wake from fantasy and sleep.



Love

 

Whoever claims to have love for the Friend

should never feel sorry for himself.


Union and separation are the same to him,

so too infidelity and faith.


The lover has nothing but love, no thoughts 

about having more or sadness from having less.


Until you gamble yourself away on love’s path,

you will never be love’s confidant.


          So, like Farhad, drunkenly wield the pick of zekr

          and cut through the mountain of self-existence!



Surrender 


If you become surrendered to the Beloved,

don’t think about union or separation.


Once you find your physician,

let neither pain nor cure concern you.


With all your heart and soul, be content and joyful

with whatever pleases the Beloved.


Go! Day and night, sit at the door of the heart!

Beware not to forget the image on the heart.


          When your venture is ruined by this image,

          only then will your credit be increased.



Divine Unity 


Here we are with the feast of love and drunkenness,

strangers to the bonds of self-worship.


In the banquet of devotion and loving kindness,

the claim of self-existence is not heard.


From us, you will find no sign but the Beloved.

We are free from pride and shame.


No one is in our circle but God;

no stranger can break into our gathering.


          Satan did not leave his “I” and “we” and so 

          was rejected from the presence of the Beloved.



Union 


The concept of self is but a passion;

God is not present in the house of “I” and “we.”


God brought us to you, and you saw

that there is no claim other than the Truth.


Why do you seek God from other than God?

This is nothing but deception.


God can be sought from us, if you realize 

that there is nothing but God.


          See us with eyes that do not suffer double vision,

          then seek God from us.

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